James Roth Named Recipient of National Public Policy Award

Dr. Jim Roth

December 21, 2017

AMES, Iowa –
Dr. James Roth, a Clarence Hartley Covault Distinguished Professor in Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named the recipient of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) 2018 Senator John Melcher, DVM Leadership in Public Policy Award.

The award is given for leadership in public policy which advances veterinary medical education and for advocating for veterinary medical education on a national and international scale.

Roth serves as director of the Center for Food Security and Public Health (CFSPH) and executive director of the Institute for International Cooperation in Animal Biologics. Through these two organizations, Roth has successfully advanced veterinary medical education related to public policy and regulatory medicine.

“This award recognizes the CFSPH team of professionals including veterinarians, graphic designers and IT specialists for their work to improve education on topics related to public policy and regulatory veterinary medicine,” Roth said. “The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Veterinary Services has supported and been a partner in our work on the development and delivery of educational materials that are of importance to and appreciated by U.S. veterinarians.”

With the development in 1996 of the Veterinary Biologics Training Program, Roth and his team in collaboration with the USDA APHIS VS Center for Veterinary Biologics in Ames, have provided an educational program covering the USDA process for approving vaccines and diagnostics. Over the years, the CFSPH has advanced veterinary medical education related to foreign animal diseases available to every veterinary college in the country.

More recently, CFSPH in collaboration with USDA APHIS VS has developed and delivered the training materials for the USDA’s National Veterinary Accreditation Program for the 60,000 USDA-accredited veterinarians in the U.S.  The center has also developed transdisciplinary education programs and plans that have helped revolutionize the approach to foreign animal disease control, emergency preparedness and response resulting in development of the Secure Food Supply plans.

Dr. Roth and his team are currently working with the World Organization for Animal Health to develop online training for individuals tasked with reporting animal disease outbreaks in their country, resulting in an even greater international reach and global understanding of animal health.

Dr. Roth received his DVM from Iowa State in 1975 and worked as a practicing veterinarian for two years before returning to campus as a graduate student and adjunct instructor. He received an MS in 1979 and his PhD in 1981. He is also the Presidential Chair in Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016.

The Senator John Melcher, DVM Leadership in Public Policy Award is named for former Montana U.S. Senator John Melcher. Melcher is a 1950 Iowa State veterinary medicine graduate who served two terms in the U.S. Senate. He was the first veterinarian to serve in the Senate.
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Contacts
James Roth, Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine, 515-294-8459, jaroth@iastate.edu
Dave Gieseke, College of Veterinary Medicine, 515-294-4257, dgieseke@iastate.edu